Books

Of Letters and a Man: A is the first canto of a projected 26-canto epic. It begins with the appearance of the Poet/Anti-Poet, who invokes Cadmus the Phoenician, father of letters and literature, and announces his intention to narrate the life of a man he calls the Hero/Zero. Following this prologue, the Hero/Zero, who also identifies with Cadmus, declares that he will narrate his own life in a work he calls I Am the Book I Write. Conceived on the grand scale of Homer, Vergil, Dante, and Milton, informed by the idiosyncrasies of Proust, Joyce, Beckett, and Borges, Of Letters and a Man: Amarks a revival of the epic tradition.

Although generally considered one of Portugal's greatest poets, Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (1888-1935) published but one book in Portuguese in his lifetime. That book, Message (Portuguese Mensagem), the esoteric epic at which he labored sporadically for more than 20 years before finally publishing it in the year prior to his death, is undoubtedly essential to an understanding of Pessoa's poetic vision, yet it remains, at least in the English-speaking world, relatively unknown and unread. Mark Will, author of the epic poem Of Letters and a Man: A, now offers to the public a new unabridged translation of Pessoa's forgotten modernist classic, in order to reintroduce listeners to a work which is as central to the Pessoan corpus as is the more celebrated, posthumously published Book of Disquiet.

Taiwan is a beautiful land—a sub-tropical paradise teeming with life and a bit of magic. People from all over the world are drawn to this breathtaking island, some for a few days, some for weeks, but many for years.

With this fifth short story collection by Taipei Writers’ Group, you will be treated to seven fictional tales by expat writers who have lived in Taiwan and absorbed some of the magic and life that is Formosa.

From modern-day love stories to ghost stories and urban fantasies, this collection will allow you to see the island through the lens of foreigners who have chosen to call it “home.”